


Beaten

by Merkwerkee



Series: Being Bruno Hamilton [22]
Category: Masters of the Metaverse
Genre: Whumptober 2019, during his time in the Vietnam War, someone gets punched but it's all in good fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22856059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merkwerkee/pseuds/Merkwerkee
Summary: Inter-unit rivalries can get a little out of hand
Series: Being Bruno Hamilton [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1643020





	Beaten

“Yeah! Get him!”

Bruno grinned as Graves cheered raucously from the sidelines, and his opponent snorted. Bruno was the biggest guy in the unit, but Pvt Danny Traverty gave him a run for his money. At just a hair shy of an inch shorter and maybe ten, fifteen pounds lighter, Traverty had come over in the latest round of recruiting from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and had been assigned to one of the teams specializing in distraction and extraction. Said team had been very excited to have a big guy of their own, and - some boasting and taunting later - here they were.

Both Bruno and Traverty were stripped to the waist, hands wrapped more to prevent broken bones than to soften any blows. Bruno could hear Graves making audible bets, with a surprising number of enthusiastic takers given that Tunstall was lurking somewhere in the background, and he chuckled. If the betting got out of hand Tunstall would probably step in - he knew where the line was - but for now he seemed merely content to watch the goings-on.

PFC Francis “Laces” Turner - one of Hurley’s Shitkickers, and not in a cast for once which was unusual for him; Bruno’d never met a clumsier guy - gave the whistle, and the fight was on.

Traverty wasted no time in attack, driving straight for Bruno’s head with a right cross. Bruno dodged and counter-punched, which Traverty blocked. As they felt each other out, trading blow for blow, dodging some punches and blocking others, Bruno felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth; he hadn’t originally been keen on beating the shit out of some kid fresh from boot camp, but this guy didn’t seem quite as green as Bruno was expecting. Not that he was in Bruno’s league, of course; if this’d been a real fight, Bruno would have exploited the hell out of the guy’s tendency to put his blocks a bit too low and broken most of his ribs already.

But that wasn’t the purpose of this exercise, as far as Bruno was concerned. The other guys might’ve wanted to see which of the biggest guys on base was the better fighter, and Traverty was certainly putting in his best effort to lay Bruno out flat, but the way Bruno saw it this was an opportunity to learn for the new guy. It would be a disservice not to teach him a lesson now that he would otherwise learn later when a real enemy taught it to him.

The next time Traverty brought his arm up for a block - too low again, of course - instead of letting his blow glance away as he had earlier, Bruno bore down. Sure enough, the arm slipped and Bruno landed a solid blow to the guy’s collarbone. Traverty wheezed and fell back a step and Bruno shook his head. “You’ve been fighting short people for too long. Don’t let habit get in your way when you block or the next guy my size might not be as nice,” Bruno lectured, smirking as Traverty turned a dull red on his neck and Graves hooted with laughter.

The guy attacked again, strikes driving harder, punches more vicious, but - Bruno was pleased to see - his blocks in the correct position now instead of too low. Still, with the harder blows, Traverty was committing more of his weight forward instead of staying balanced, and if he just…

One blindingly quick move later and Traverty was on the floor, blinking up at the ceiling. Weber had joined Graves in cheering, but the mood on the other side of the room was beginning to turn surly. Bruno knew it was time to end the fight, before anyone got angrier than their common sense threshold. A quick glance at Tunstall netted him a slow nod and the beginnings of an amble towards Graves; the LT would make sure all bets were returned. Dropping his stance, he leaned down to offer Traverty a hand. “You did good, kid. A little more seasoning and we can try this again.” He kept his tone friendly, silently willing the kid to take the hand in the spirit it was offered.

No such luck. “I don’t need any help,” hissed Traverty, knocking Bruno’s hand away and shoving himself to his feet. Bruno raised his eyebrows and took a prudent step backward out of grabbing range.

“Fine. Good fight, kid. Let’s do this again sometime,” Bruno said, deliberately turning his back on the shorter man.

Graves’ warning shout was largely unnecessary as Bruno was already turning to meet the kid’s predictable-as-hell tackle, but the force drove him to the ground with a soft “oof!" 

It devolved quickly from there, Traverty doing his best to wrestle Bruno into submission and Bruno taking exactly none of his shit. The pair of them rolled into the legs of someone else, and the whole thing snowballed into a free-for-all that only ended when Tunstall returned - having vanished at some point during the melee - with the MPs.

Some of the least dignified bruises Bruno’d ever gotten, and he ends up with as many demerits as his assailant. Go figure.


End file.
